Georgia does not recognise the trust as a native legal institution, and the country has not acceded to the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts. Foreign investors and their advisers seeking to give effect to recognition of trusts and foundations in Georgia must therefore work through a structured sequence of steps under Georgian civil law and the registration framework administered by the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR).
The starting point is establishing the legal basis for the structure. Under Georgian law, a foreign trust holding assets located in Georgia — real property, shareholdings in a Georgian entity, or bank deposits — does not operate automatically by virtue of its foreign governing law. The relevant assets must be held by a Georgian legal entity or through a duly registered foreign entity with a local presence. In practice, this typically means the trustee or foundation board establishes either a local subsidiary or registers a branch of the foreign entity with the NAPR, disclosing the ultimate beneficial owner in accordance with Georgian anti-money-laundering legislation.
For private foundations, the path is broadly analogous. Georgia's Civil Code and legislation on non-entrepreneurial legal entities permit the registration of a Georgian foundation as a vehicle for holding family assets, though this form is better suited to philanthropic purposes than to commercially active wealth structures. Where a foreign private foundation — such as a Liechtenstein Anstalt or a Panamanian foundation — holds Georgian assets, the foundation typically registers as a foreign company with the NAPR rather than seeking direct conversion into a Georgian legal form.
The practical steps, in sequence, are as follows. The founding documents of the trust or foundation (trust deed, foundation statutes, register extract from the home jurisdiction) must be apostilled or legalised and translated into Georgian by a certified translator. The trustee or authorised representative submits a registration application to the NAPR together with beneficial ownership disclosure forms; under Georgian AML rules, any natural person holding an interest exceeding twenty-five per cent must be identified. The NAPR typically completes registration within five to seven business days, though the documentation checklist it accepts for foreign trust structures has evolved in recent years and should be confirmed with local counsel at the time of instruction. Once registered, the structure can open corporate bank accounts with Georgian commercial banks, which conduct their own KYC review independently of the NAPR process.
One practical point merits emphasis: Georgian banks apply their own enhanced due diligence to trust structures and foundations, and the time required to satisfy a bank's KYC process frequently exceeds the time required for NAPR registration. Advisers coordinating cross-border Georgia–Russia or Georgia–EU structures should plan bank onboarding in parallel with the registration process, not sequentially.
For guidance on the Private Wealth & Structuring (/jurisdictions/georgia/private-wealth/) and Succession Planning (/jurisdictions/georgia/succession/) dimensions of Georgian structures, the firm's Georgia jurisdiction page is available at /jurisdictions/georgia/.
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Vetrov & Partners is a Russian boutique law firm established in 2009, recognised by Pravo-300 for eight consecutive years. The firm advises foreign clients on cross-border structuring and succession matters, and collaborates with regional counsel — including Georgia-qualified practitioners — where local admission is required. We are a Russian-qualified law firm; for matters governed by Georgian or other foreign law, we work with trusted counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.
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This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice under Russian or any other applicable law. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Vetrov & Partners is a Russian-qualified law firm. For matters governed by foreign law or requiring local admission in another jurisdiction, we collaborate with trusted counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vetrovpartners.com.
-- Nino Beridze Contributing Regional Analyst -- Georgia, Vetrov & Partners vetrovpartners.com/contributions/
Nino Beridze advises on business relocation, tax structuring, and wealth planning matters with a Georgia focus. She contributes regional analysis to Vetrov & Partners on cross-border mandates involving Georgian law and collaborates with the firm's succession and private wealth practice.